The FaMe
A journey of facilitation
Edition: #1 December 2023
About FaMeTN:
We in the Bureau for Facilitating MSMEs of Tamil Nadu (FaMeTN), an organisation under the MSME Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu support MSMEs with access to finance and markets, and nudge them along the path of sustainability. The FaMe Newsletter is a quarterly one, and through this newsletter we hope to create a greater conversation with you - our MSMEs.
A word from the MD
Thiru L. Nirmal Raj, I.A.S.
Managing Director, FaMeTN
A JOURNEY TOWARDS FACILITATION OF MSMEs
I am pleased to present the first edition of our quarterly newsletter - The FaMe. The newsletter will act as a means of connecting with our MSMEs and showcasing their progress and our work.
The biggest challenge that MSMEs face is access to finance. Hence, in FY 2022 - 2023, FaMeTN launched various initiatives to support an MSME’s ability to access finance. FaMeTN initiated schemes such as TNCGS and TNTReDS to address the financial problems of MSMEs. Besides, the Govt. of Tamil Nadu, under the leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, brought out a new scheme called the Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme (AABCS), the one of its kind in the whole of the country. In FY 2023 - 2024, while we continue to build our last year’s work, we extend our focus to expanding markets for MSMEs. This transition was marked by an event chaired by our Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on MSME Day. The first few pages of this newsletter showcase this event.
MSMEs have often struggled to market their products due to lack of awareness of how and where to sell their
Tamil Nadu Credit Guarantee scheme (TNCGS) is a credit guarantee scheme that aims to provide credit facilitation for MSMEs.
Tamil Nadu Trade Receivable e-Discounting Platforms (TNTReDS) is a platform for enabling MSMEs to get payment of their bills much quicker through bill discounting.
Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme (AABCS) is a scheme that provides subsidies to the socially marginalised communities (SC/ST) of Tamil Nadu to expand their business to new boundaries.
products or services. Often, access to buyers itself is a challenge. If you flip through The FaMe Newsletter, you will see a testimonial of an MSME called The Good Gift, and how FaMeTN’s hand holding helped them reach new markets. This is one story of facilitation.
FaMeTN steps in to bridge this gap by organising domestic B2B meetings with private and public sector companies, enabling e-commerce onboarding through platforms like ONDC and GeM, sponsoring and supporting participation in international trade expos, and providing access to the virtual pavilion, a virtual business expo which opens doors to new business opportunities.
The transformative impact of access to markets can revolutionise the growth of MSMEs. Witness this journey of transformation as we bring to you stories of such transformation and I also request you to write to us with your stories to get featured in our newsletter. After all, FaMeTN is your organisation. We are here to help you.
Journey so far
The following are the statistics of FaMeTN’s accomplishments for the FY 2022 - 2023:
MSMEs joined e-Commerce platforms, since November 2022 and generated ₹11.5 crore Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) 4,360
1,685+
MSMEs benefited from four B2B Meets
worth of sponsorship was provided to 45 MSMEs and 9 Associations ₹66 lakhs
MSMEs were supported in transitioning to manufacturing of Electric Vehicle Components 150
worth of invoices discounted for MSMEs and 98 PSEs were onboarded on TN TReDS ₹ 1,375 crores
MSMEs were certified with ZED. Tamil Nadu is among the top 5 states with 10,000+ registrations 5,859
MSMEs participated in 8 trade exhibitions and fairs since January 2023 400+
MSMEs were educated through 3 sessions across Tamil Nadu on GST filing, documentation, loans, RuPay Credit Card and schemes 220
MSMEs received financial support through loan facilitation drives 755
MSMEs were given exposure to the Centres of Excellence setup by the Government of Tamil Nadu 1160
MSMEs received training in making their factories energy efficient 262
International MSME Day 2023: Towards Seamless Market Facilitation
On International MSME Day 2023, the Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru. M.K. Stalin graced the occasion and inaugurated FaMeTN initiatives related to Market Access.
“The MSME support schemes provided by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu nurtures an inclusive growth for MSMEs” - The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu addressed the gathering.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister launched the Virtual Pavilion, a platform for MSMEs to display their products and make them available to buyers around the globe.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister distributed state-level awards to inspiring MSMEs and to banks that supported the MSMEs of Tamil Nadu.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister launched the Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme (AABCS), granting a sum of ₹18 crores to 100 Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) community beneficiaries.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister inaugurated three SIDCO estates in Sakkimangalam (Madurai), Manapparai (Trichy), and Kodur (Chengalpattu).
The Hon’ble Chief Minister inaugurated the first cashew cluster unit in Cuddalore under the Micro Cluster Development Program to create a supportive ecosystem for MSMEs.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister presided over the signing of an MoU between FaMeTN and TN MSME investors to invest ₹1,510 crores and create employment for 7,400 people in three years.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister presided over the signing of an MoU between FaMeTN and SIDBI for loan facilitation and for enabling a digital financial system based on the existing databases.
The Hon’ble Minister for MSMEs presented awards to the best-performing General Managers across various districts, recognising and promoting their performance. The General Managers of DICs were elated as they received their awards and took the stage to share their experiences.
As a part of our initiatives for the FY 2023 - 2024, FaMeTN has facilitated MSMEs to attend international and National Expos to gain new access to markets. Explore some of the expos listed below:
UK - Tamil Nadu Meet
FaMeTN facilitated the meeting between 12 companies from the UK (Specialisation: Automation, EV, Aerospace and Defence sectors) and 27 MSMEs from Tamil Nadu.
Date: 25th April 2023
Venue: SIDCO Corporate Office, Guindy.
PLEXCONNECT 2023
FaMeTN facilitated 10 Tamil Nadu MSMEs to open their stalls, free of cost, in the PLEXCONNECT 2023 Exhibition.
Date: 15th June 2023 - 17th June 2023
Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Nesco- Mumbai.
Agri Intex 2023
FaMeTN sponsored the stalls for seven MSMEs in the Agri-Intex Expo, organised by CODISSIA.
Date: 14th July 2023 - 17th July 2023
Venue: CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex, Coimbatore.
India - USA Trade Connect
FaMeTN sponsored two stalls and 53 entry passes for the Tamil Nadu MSMEs in the ‘India - USA Trade Connect’ event organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC).
Date: 7th June 2023
Venue: ITC Grand Chola, Chennai.
HGH Annual Trade show
FaMeTN facilitated 10 MSMEs from Tamil Nadu to open their stalls in the HGH Annual Trade Show, free of cost.
Date: 4th July 2023 - 7th July 2023.
Venue: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
From the Blue Hills to airports: Why Marketing Matters for MSMEs
Tucked away in the quiet Nilgiris, a group of women come together for a potluck and the room is filled with music and laughter. As they leave for their homes, they each take along a bag of discarded cloth.This will be transformed into colourful rag dolls which will later reach homes, schools, and corporate offices across the country.
Founded and managed by Sunitha and Suhas Ramegowda, ‘The Good Gift’ is a conscious gifting brand that sells dolls, paintings, and other home decor. All products are handcrafted by women from local indigenous communities. In this interview, they tell us about how they developed their business, the women they work with and what entrepreneurship means to them.
You have moved from a career in human resource management to being a social entrepreneur. How did you start your business and how has the process been?
We are actually ‘accidental’ entrepreneurs. When we shifted here, we learnt about the people from Irula and Kurumba communities as they are our neighbours. Gradually, we realised the challenges they faced in finding a stable livelihood, which a lot of privileged folks take for granted. So in 2018, we started this initiative out of our living room with five women. Today, we work with 53 women, who are organised into enterprise groups. Each of them earns at least ₹4,000 - 6,000 a month. The women mostly work from home. This along with a minimum guaranteed income has motivated more women to join us. Today, some of their husbands are borrowing money from them and those who were unable to even tell time earlier, now support us with bookkeeping.
Our business has been successful because of the efforts we have put into building backward linkages, i.e. the upskilling and capacity building of the women. Here depth matters more than scale. For example, one of the women
who works with us earned ₹12,000 last month! Multiple people have suggested that we work on newer products or with communities in Rajasthan or Gujarat, but we have been particular about what we work for and who we work with. There are 83,000 households in the Nilgiris itself and many indigenous forms of art. There is a long way to go.
Arts and Crafts is a budding market today with a large number of companies producing a range of products. What makes your product unique?
As mentioned earlier, when we started The Good Gift, we spent a lot of time and resources towards training our employees. This ensured that products were of great quality and also helped us reach our goal of income generation. Additionally, we have come to understand the importance of marketing and investing in forward linkages. Things change when an entrepreneur tries to understand a customer problem and makes a product that solves the same. In our case we conducted a market study and found that people are looking at conscious gifting; there is a demand for gift articles that are traceable, contemporary, have utility, and are sustainable. When we understood this gap, we wanted to make something that satisfied these needs. This lead to exploring a wide variety of products such as patchwork quilts, cotton bags, macrame, and currently fabric dolls.
Sustainability has always been non-negotiable for us. Single-use materials have permeated into our lives so
much. In fact, traditional art like the Kurumba paintings, which depict the daily lives of harvest or celebration, is usually made on leaves using natural dyes. Unfortunately, artists are now using acrylics to match the scale of production and to reduce costs. Our aim is to preserve such art forms while ensuring that the products are commercially viable. For example, we are now exploring the use of banana paper as a canvas for such paintings.
Is this adaptability for everyone? Do you feel marketing, i.e. market research, branding, and packaging, is necessary for all types of production?
Absolutely! Even if the business is generational and has an established customer base, the competition is always rising. The point of any business is to sell, and if one wants to sell, one needs to market the product. Entrepreneurs cannot afford to shy away from this anymore. Every brand must have a core idea and this must be linked to a customer problem. For us, it is sustainability and local production.
After ideation comes manufacturing and marketing. First, how do we make our products? All of our products are zero-waste and the packaging is done using natural materials. Even the production is oriented towards a lesser carbon footprint as we source raw materials locally from Karur, Tiruppur, and Erode. The next aspect is the marketing. We are looking at products that appeal to people. That is why we chose fabric dolls, as they are an
age-old tradition. Now, while making dolls, we need to be specific about the type of doll and the user. One of our strategies is to make these dolls representative of places so that they can be taken as souvenirs. An airport is a great place to do this so we are set to display our dolls at the international airports in Delhi, Mumbai and Goa. For both manufacturing and marketing, exposure and networking play a key role in understanding who wants what.
How do you think the government can help MSMEs in marketing?
The past eight months have changed our thinking that working with the government is hard. The level of support that the government can offer cannot be matched by any private entity. However, a connection needs to be made to educate people about the schemes available and encourage entrepreneurs. One specific form of support that the government can provide is taking people to trade shows and exhibitions, which helps in integrating with a larger ecosystem. This offers exposure, which is key for forward linkages. For instance, FaMeTN gave us a 100% sponsorship to set up a stall at the HGH India Expo for home decor, gifting and houseware. Some of these exhibitions are quite expensive and micro and small entrepreneurs need financial support to access these spaces. For us, the HGH expo opened up a lot of doors and our thought process changed after talking to people. I think access to such larger platforms is exactly what entrepreneurs need to understand the customer segment, to frame the problem statement, and to crack the solution.
Kurumba Painting
Macrame
Embroidery
Crochet
Focus Sector: Electric Vehicles (EVs)
An EV uses electric motors for propulsion and is often powered by Lithium Ion batteries. Manufacture of EVs is a thrust sector, as the world moves towards sustainable mobility.
Tamil Nadu is India’s primary hub for EV manufacturing. Almost 70% of electric two-wheelers sold in the country are manufactured in Tamil Nadu. The EV industry is growing at a rapid rate. Here is how we plan to leverage this opportunity and make TN the global leader in this sector.
Initiative 1
Manufacturing of EVs will require a skilled workforce, including technical resources. FaMeTN is working with the World Resources Institute India (WRI India) to empower MSMEs with the necessary knowledge and expertise in EV manufacturing.
Initiative 2
FaMeTN is working with industry partners to establish Common Facility Centres (CFCs) for EVs in Tamil Nadu. These centres will help Tamil Nadu MSMEs develop, test and validate critical EV components.
Initiative 3
FaMeTN will establish a cluster after the study, uniting motor and pump manufacturing MSMEs to develop EV motor manufacturing capabilities for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and light commercial vehicles.
“At the state government level, there is an MSME-driven focus on building an innovative motor manufacturing ecosystem.”
-Thiru Srinivasan, Senior Advisor, EV Sector FaMeTN
Launching FaMeTN Connect!
FaMeTN Connect is an initiative of FaMeTN, focussed on opening MSMEs to new markets. Under this initiative, we work with large industries to identify vendor requirements and connect them with MSMEs that satisfy those requirements. Through this, we aim to increase the revenues of our MSMEs.
Keep watching this space for more updates! Scan the QR code to access the e-version of the newsletter.